I have spotted something interesting about Malbec lately… it’s everywhere. Even the 99, hardly famous for its wine list, has a Malbec. The newest big red wine craze has gone outside the first stage of folks simply purchasing it, to newsletter coverage, to the tier of cafes who always appear to be the last to respond to wine trends.

In addition to writing blog posts and doing lots of speaking with customers at the liquor store, my primary responsibility continues to be making sure that the fine wines are stocked. While not especially glamorous, this does give me a ground zero view of trends among our customers, and what I have spotted during the past couple of months is this: Malbec has decelerated to a crawl. Where once I had to make two passes a week through Argentina, now if it is necessary I will skip a week safely. It looks as if, again, the fashions are changing.

This is a recurring theme for American wine shoppers… remember Australian Shiraz? California Merlot? It is an recognized fact that, in opposition to the majority of the wine drinking world, American citizens like to pick a style of wine, declare it to be “the best ever,” and therefore a new trend is born. As more and more folk become fascinated with this newbie, producers start to change the wine… making it riper, fruitier, softer, and more oaky. Whatever slightly exotic character the wines that started the trend may have had, by the time our Shiraz or Malbec shows up on the 99′s wine list, that magic has lost its luster.

This will all have sounded rather gloomy, but in fact when wines go out of favour engaging things begin to happen. When Shiraz fell out of favor, all of a sudden “boutique” wineries charging ridiculous amounts of money for so-so wine couldn’t sustain themselves. Costs came down, and the over-extracted, unidentifiable wines gave way to expressions that were balanced, fascinating, even chic. We’ve seen Barossa Shiraz tone down the sugar content, Coonawarra embrace its more spicy personality, and witnessed the emergence of Mornington as a region manufacturing medium-bodied wines that take as many cues from the North Rhone as they do from Penfolds. Australia has received a second lease on life, and has decided to build for the long term instead of embrace its hedonistic past.

Of course, this returns us back to Malbec. As the wines that more and more salesmen bring in taste more and more alike, and the category slows, I see bright spots set to appear. There are oakless Malbecs now, priced around $10, that actually show off fruit because they have nothing to hide behind. I see single vineyard wines for under $20, that deliver both the classic Malbec violet note and show individual terroir. I even see Cahors, the French region famous for Malbec production, growing as our customers become interested in touching their new discovery’s roots.

Don’t be surprised if shortly the newest “best wine ever” appears. Look for your hostess gifts to switch from Malbec to Rioja, or Old Vine Zinfandel, or Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, and look for in-store tastings to switch their focus. Then head into Argentina and take a look at the regions, the styles, the assertions of “balance” and “expressiveness.” Ask us questions, we love to speak about this stuff. Just as Shiraz has become today, so soon you’ll find that Malbec has become an unheralded but brilliant role player in the larger arena of wine.

Patrick Suleski has been with Colonial Spirits, a Concord liquor store, since early 2008. Patrick studied to become a Sommelier in Florence, Italy, before going back to the United States to pursue wine as a career. Very able with his wine selections, Patrick can also suggest what food to pair with your favourite white wine and can potentially tell you which blues artist is playing over the store’s PA.